I select sync folders and get 5,386 some photos and then it imports a bunch (10 to 100) that I have recently added. I am not missing any as I look at the subdirs and the contents and it never say there is any problem or where the "mystery" 5,000 photos are.

I have 43,565 photos on my NAS box. most by year. when i do the sync in this case I will get NONE. but usually I get the 10 to 50 i import that have been added to that folder.

this has been going on for some time/years I just never get around to mentioning it or asking for help.

The reason most of these photos are not synchronized by this action is because they have previously been imported/synchronized into your Lightroom catalog. There is no reason and no benefit to import/synchronize them again. Just go to the Lightroom Library Module, locate the photo, and edit or perform other task on the photo.

I am not syncing or importing a second time. I am adding photos for the FIRST time, but Lightroom seems to have a counter or index that is not itself syncing properly?

I am an electrical engineer by training, and I been in the computer industry for over 30 years working for numerous fortune 100 companies, I have develop software in multiple programming languages and worked for some of the largest (large then Adobe) software companies in the world.

So my "expectation" is yes that is that LR does not the "act" as it does (which is flawed/broken by my analysis) but to rather act as logically expected or as every other software or hardware product I have used woudl act? OR maybe you don't understand my question/issue?

When I put new photos in the different sub-directories/years OR if I edit an existing photo and make a new saved version/copy or crop and edit it etc. my best practice and my workflow and "expectation" is I want Lightroom to mathematically, logically and expectedly resolve the new items - YES there are 9 new photos to sync with the Library and to then go get them and import the NEW ones? NOT tell me about 5,355 that are already in the library or whatever that number comes from since there are over 45,000 in the library?

Instead, it says I have 5,364 to import and then when I say to proceed it imports the 9 actual new ones and never reconciles or alarms or identifies the shortage or what the other 5,355 of them were being counted for?

Your answer is a smug "don't do that" without and suggestion or alternative to import new photos either by copying into the directories or creating copies IN directory?

"rethink" Lightroom? After 6 versions and hundreds of hours of use......DO TELL? What should I be doing exactly?

So dj_paige you got me doing a little thinking and also I was doing some housecleaning.

a) I keep whining about these mysterious 5,000+ files that LR "sees" but does not sync or import. It will import the few new 2016 photos (JPG) and it seems to sync and import files if I move or copy them (outside of LR) to a physical directory mainly JPG files and it seems to see mpeg and MOV files.

Instead of looking at the mysterious 5,000 out of the 43,000 photos I homed in a few of my sub 20 directories like 1800s, and 1900s, etc etc

b) it seems LR sync at least from what I see COUNTS but then does not import or categorize my .BMP pictures?

see below I can say sync this single folder and it will report (6) files actually should be 15, but then when I tell it to sync it reports NO files to sync/import. and the BMP pictures never get pulled in?

Is there an "exclude" files or filter somewhere??? I simple search on my shared network pictures subdirectory on BMP on ALL folders yeilds 271 files, PNG a few hundred, etc.

does the library have a re settable file count or how do I get the BMP files into the catalog?

thanks dj_paige while getting me to banter about and think about this you forced me to look at it from a different angle?